Ah. Smog's A River Ain't Too Much To Love is one of my very favorite albums, and certainly an album that meets my still-developing hi-fi requirements. It sounds great. I fell in love with it right around the time I was discovering hi-fi at home, which makes it, for me, extra-special.

So, I am anxiously awaiting Woke On A Whaleheart, Bill Callahan's first album released under his own name, and his first complete work since A River.

Of this latest album, Callahan has said, "Ever since A River Ain't Too Much To Love, I've been trying to lessen the division between guitar and voice. I'm trying to make things more difficult..."

Wow, I say. A River is an intensely intimate record to begin with, so very respectful of guitar and voice and space, and Callahan's taking that deeper? I'm looking forward to this recording not only as a piece of beautiful work, but to see how well it captures Callahan's particularly protective, close-held guitar style and his distinct, dark, thoughtful voice.

Callahan also credits his girlfriend, the talented Joanna Newsom, for renewing his interest in guitar. So, there's another reason to get excited about this new disc. We can hope for Newsom to make an appearance on it - in one way or another - as well.

[Crap, what am I going to blog about now? -Ed.]

So, are there any albums you're looking forward to this year? Any albums you can suggest that really do a great job of capturing acoustic guitar and voice?

Cool! I didn't know he had a new album coming out. I'm a pretty big Prine fan, myself. With his depth of lyrical and musical talent, it's a wonder he never achieved the fame of some of his contemporaries. Speaking of under-appreciated geniuses, don't miss "Preludes", a CD featuring some rare and previously unreleased cuts from the great Warren Zevon, to be released May 1.